In 1890, the only Lutheran church in Berea was Saint Paul's, located on the corner of Eastland Road and First Avenue in Middleburg Township. At a meeting held on March 6, 1890, a group who resided in and south of the Village of Berea agreed that distance was a handicap and transportation a problem. They favored relocating the church within the village limits. Since they could not persuade the majority of the congregation to agree to their plan, they resolved to separate and form a new congregation.

Formal organization was effected in a meeting held on July 27, 1890, in old Hulet Hall on the campus of Baldwin University on the south side. The Rev. John Niemann, pastor of Trinity Church, Cleveland, and President of the Central District of the Missouri Synod, presided at this meeting. A constitution was presented for discussion, unanimously adopted ,and signed by the 45 male members present. It was resolved to apply for membership in the Missouri Synod. At this meeting a call was extended to Rev. Justus H. Rupprecht, a graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, who became the first pastor of our congregation.